LACTATE-DEHYDROGENASE QUANTIFICATION AND ISOENZYME DISTRIBUTION IN PHYSIOLOGICAL-RESPONSE TO STRESS IN RED DEER (CERVUS-ELAPHUS)

As a contribution to the description of the physiological response to stress in red deer (Cervus elaphus), the potential use of the intracel lular glycolytic enzyme, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and its isoenzyme LDH-5, as a marker of muscle damage was assessed. The distribution of LDH isoenzymes within red deer tissues was similar to that shown in o ther ruminants: tissue characterisation showed isoenzyme LDH-5 to be p articularly associated with skeletal muscle. High plasma concentration s of creatine kinase, a muscle-specific enzyme, were associated with b oth high total LDH activity and the percentage of LDH-5 activity in de er undergoing a potentially stressful procedure, transportation follow ed by simulated abattoir lairage, which is further evidence of the spe cificity of the isoenzyme for skeletal muscle damage. The activity of LDH was not correlated with the plasma concentration of cortisol, a wi dely used physiological measure of psychological stress. This may have been due to different time courses for release and the fact that, in the present study, the immediate pre-collection procedures may have in duced a short-term stress response.